• Trump said he plans to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports, plus 10% on Chinese imports.
• Democrats have generally opposed Trump's tariff plans — but at least one is offering him praise.
• Rep. Jared Golden, who previously introduced a 10% tariff bill, says Trump's "off to a good start."

President-elect Donald Trump is winning praise from one House Democrat over his recent threat to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China.

"I think Trump's off to a good start there," Rep. Jared Golden, a centrist Democrat who represents a GOP-leaning congressional district in Maine, told Business Insider at the Capitol on Thursday.

Golden isn't your average Democrat. While many in his party — including Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee — have long panned Trump's tariff plans as a burdensome tax on consumers, Golden has embraced the idea as a way to spur growth in domestic industries.

In September, Golden introduced a bill that mirrored Trump's proposal for a 10% tariff on all foreign imports. Under Golden's "Balance Unequal International Labor and Trade for the United States of America" (BUILT USA) Act, that tariff would increase by 5% for every year that the United States maintains a trade deficit.

Other Democrats have taken the opposite approach, citing economists who say that the costs of tariffs would be passed on to regular consumers. Reps. Suzan DelBene of Washington and Don Beyer of Virginia recently introduced a bill that would block Trump from unilaterally imposing tariffs via executive order.

Trump recently said that he "can't guarantee" that Americans won't pay higher prices as the result of tariffs.

The president-elect's latest tariff proposal includes a 25% tax on imports from Mexico and Canada. In a November Truth Social post, Trump said he would sign an executive order to impose those tariffs on the first day of his presidency, and that they would remain "until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country."

He announced a 10% tariff on China that same day, blaming the country for the "massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States."

Golden pointed out on Thursday that both parties have embraced tariffs in recent years, citing President Joe Biden's decision to maintain tariffs that Trump had instituted during his first term. "We've had eight years of bipartisan executive branch consensus on tariffs," he said.

"Tariffs alone are not necessarily good or bad. They've got their positives and negatives," said Golden. The congressman said he'd like to see Trump's tariffs coupled with other policies, such as investments in domestic manufacturing and subsidizing American-made goods to offset potential retaliatory tariffs from other countries.

"All of those things in combination, I think, can make for good economic policy. They don't stand necessarily well on one foot," said Golden. "I think we've seen some of that in the last four years and a little bit in the four years before that."

"You don't just take an economy that's been heading in wrong direction for decades and turn it around like that," Golden said, snapping his fingers.

• Citadel's Ken Griffin is skeptical of Elon Musk's ability to cut trillions from the federal budget.
• Tesla CEO Musk has been tapped to run the proposed Department of Government Efficiency by Trump.
• Entitlement reform would be needed for the level of cuts Musk has called for, Griffin said Wednesday.

Billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin wants to get America's "fiscal house in order" but doesn't believe Elon Musk can do it alone.

Speaking at Wednesday's DealBook conference in New York, Griffin said it's unlikely that Musk, who has become a close advisor of President-elect Donald Trump and is set to co-run the proposed Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, will be able to cut the trillions he has called for without entitlement reform.

"Making cuts in any form or fashion will be very politically unpopular," said Griffin, who was one of the biggest donors to the Republican Party this election but declined to support Trump directly — though he said he voted for the real estate mogul.

Griffin — who paused for a couple of seconds when asked for his opinion about Musk's new task running Doge, prompting scattered laughs from a crowd that included fellow hedge-fund billionaire Dan Loeb and Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan — said the bond market could eventually become unsteady if there isn't a clean-up of the country's spending.

"To make Elon wear the entire burden of that responsibility is preposterous," he said.

Griffin, who lauded Musk's entrepreneurial abilities, also said he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain independent so it can make decisions too unpopular — but necessary — for politicians.

The wide-ranging interview between Griffin and New York Times editor and CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin revealed that the billionaire hedge-fund manager does not think Trump's most explosive economic policies, such as his aggressive tariff proposals, will go into effect.

Last week, Trump posted about implementing tariffs on countries like Brazil and Russia that were considering creating a new currency to reduce the power of the US dollar. "It's not going to happen," he said, bluntly about Trump's recent warning.

Griffin said this is how negotiating is done in real estate, and he believes items like tariffs are a "second-order" issue.

"America is open for business," Griffin said repeatedly, and he pushed that throughout the interview. Gone, he said, is the "paralyzing regulation" of Joe Biden's administration, and executives are "smiling from ear-to-ear."

"For corporate America, it's a better world today than it was before the election," he said.

Griffin's $65 billion firm had a strong November, returning 1.8% in its flagship Wellington fund. Asked if there was still room in the investment industry for smaller funds and individual investors, Griffin said there's always going to be a dominant incumbent in any industry.

"When I started out, I had to go compete with Salomon Brothers and Goldman Sachs," he said.

Now, new launches compete with his firm and peers like Millennium and Point72.

"Your entrepreneurs find a way to make it happen," he said.

• Trump vowed to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico on his first day in office.
• Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau warned tariffs will harm both Canadian and American consumers and industries.
• Trudeau said he and Trump will "work together as we previously did."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to President-elect Donald Trump's Monday vow to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico on day one in office.

Trudeau, who's been Canada's prime minister since 2015, told reporters in Prince Edward Island, Canada, that Trump's expected action will have consequences not just on Canadians but also on American consumers, according to the Associated Press.

"Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for Americans citizens as well and hurting American industry and business," Trudeau said.

After a phone call earlier in the week to discuss the plans, Trudeau also made his way to West Palm Beach on Friday to meet with Trump, sources told Bloomberg.

Trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods coming from the northern and southern neighbors of the US. He said it's a direct response to the inflow of immigrants and narcotics coming into the country illegally from Canada and Mexico, he said.

Canada and the US worked together during Trump's first presidency when re-negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump threatened to use tariffs then as well. His threat of tariffs on imports from Mexico led to an expansion of the Migrant Protection Protocols program across the US-Mexico border.

Trudeau noted that the two have been able to come to an agreement in the past.

"We can work together as we did previously," Trudeau said.

While Canada has yet to impose any tariffs of its own, a senior official told AP that it is looking into introducing retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the US.

"We're going to work together to meet some of the concerns," Trudeau said. "But ultimately it is through lots of real constructive conversations with President Trump that I am going to have, that will keep us moving forward on the right track for all Canadians."

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has already said that her country would impose tariffs on the US if Trump goes through with his plan.

Sheinbaum said during a press conference this week that "one tariff will be followed by another, and so on, until we put joint ventures at risk."

As previously reported by Business Insider, Canada was the top export destination for 32 states in 2016. According to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, about 77% of Canada's exports go to the US.

• President-elect Trump plans to levy 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, he said Monday.
• These tariffs could include vehicles imported into the US.
• There are dozens of Mexican and Canadian-made models sold in the US.

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced plans to enact 25% tariffs on goods made in Canada and Mexico when he takes office in January.

Mexico is the largest trade partner for the US, accounting for nearly 16% of total trade over the first three quarters of this year. Canada isn't far behind as the country's second-largest trading pattern, accounting for about 14.5% of trade.

Tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada are especially problematic for the US automotive industry.

Mexico alone exports more than 2.3 million cars a year to the US, according to Commerce Department data.

Foreign and domestic carmakers like Ford, GM, and Nissan have invested decades of time and billions of dollars to establish a well-oiled, cross-border manufacturing and supply chain operation to make vehicles destined for US dealerships.

A 25% tariff would not automatically mean a matching price increase, though it would leave automakers — already struggling with shrinking profit margins — with little room to eat the cost without increasing the sticker price of their vehicles.

Large retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have already said consumer prices are likely to rise if businesses pass on cost increases to consumers.

Parts for cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in the US can cross the border several times during their production process, thanks to friendly conditions fueled by various regional trade agreements over the years.

Representatives from Ford, Honda, and the American Automakers Policy Council, a lobbying group representing Detroit's Big 3, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Nissan, Stellantis, General Motors, and Toyota declined to comment.

This comes at a bad time for US consumers who have seen the average cost of a new car skyrocket more than $10,000 since 2019 to more than $48,000. Many automakers, meanwhile, are planning layoffs and plant closures amid a slowdown in EV demand.

Information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that several dozen vehicles made in Canada and Mexico are currently sold in the US.

Here's a closer look at these models, which range from pickups to luxury SUVs and EVs:

BMW Group

• BMW 2-Series Coupe/Convertible (Mexico)
• BMW M2 Coupe (Mexico)
• BMW 3-Series Sedan (Mexico)

Ford

• Ford Bronco Sport (Mexico)
• Ford Maverick (Mexico)
• Ford Mustang Mach-E (Mexico)

General Motors

• Chevrolet Blazer (Mexico)
• Chevrolet Blazer EV (Mexico)
• Chevrolet Equinox (Mexico)
• Chevrolet Equinox EV (Mexico)
• GMC Terrain (Mexico)

Honda

• Honda CR-V Hybrid (Canada)
• Honda Civic Sedan (Canada)
• Honda HR-V (Mexico)
• Honda Prologue (Mexico)

Kia

• Kia Forte (Mexico)

Mercedes-Benz

• Mercedes-Benz GLB (Mexico)

Nissan Motors Corporation

• Infiniti QX50 (Mexico)
• Infiniti QX55 (Mexico)
• Nissan Sentra (Mexico)
• Nissan Kicks (Mexico)
• Nissan Versa (Mexico)

Stellantis

• Ram 2500-5500 (Mexico)
• Ram ProMaster (Mexico)
• Jeep Compass (Mexico)
• Chrysler Pacifica (Canada)

Toyota

• Toyota Tacoma (Mexico)
• Toyota RAV4/RAV4 Hybrid (Canada)
• Lexus NX (Canada)
• Lexus RX (Canada)

Volkswagen Group

• Audi Q5/SQ5
• VW Jetta (Mexico)
• VW Taos (Mexico)
• VW Tiguan(Mexico)